Recent Posts

1701

General Software Discussion / Re: Dual Booting Win XP and Win 7

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 18, 2011, 03:58 AM »

I would suggest a clean install of Windows 7 and run XP as required in a VM. You will probably find you won't need it that often.

Re. your other questions:

1) I don't use BitLocker or any other encryption on my drives. Come across too many unrecoverable encrypted systems.
2) Each volume shows up as drive C: when that OS is running other partitions run as other letters depending on optical drives etc. present.

This is only true if XP is installed first. Vista and 7 will always call the system drive C: but XP only assigns the letter C if it is installed on a blank drive.

You can tweak other volume letters after you install an OS in Disk Management but the system drive in XP is non trivial to tweak.

Personally I put all my documents on a separate partition and call it G: in all versions of Windows. If you are running a VM just make the document drive a network share and make sure all OSes are running in the same Workgroup.

1702

General Software Discussion / Re: Dual Booting Win XP and Win 7

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 17, 2011, 12:36 PM »

I triple boot XP, Vista and 7 and have no problems.

The only issue I am aware of is that Restore Points for System restore aren't independent and they can get a bit muddled - esp. XP restore points.

Simple solution is to turn off System Restore in XP and use another method to roll back in an emergency.

The other important point is that if you install Windows 7 it will update the MBR and boot system on the Windows XP partition. This doesn't cause a problem with multiple booting but it does mean a bit of head scratching if you need to remove XP at a later date (you can't simply delete the partition and hope it works).

Golden rule with multibooting windows systems when not using 3rd party tools to build the boot system is to make sure the versions are installed oldest version first and then proceed with installs until the most recent version is installed last.

PS. I agree with fOdder - unless you have a real need to multiboot (like a piece of software that doesn't run in Windows 7) just start with a clean Win 7 install and forget XP. Windows 7 is a good operating system.

The only reason I multiboot now is that I support computers with all three OSes so I need access to them on my computer - otherwise I would go to Win 7 (64 bit) permanently.

If you have the odd program that needs XP why no install a virtual XP setup within Windows 7?

1703

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Baby Cody arrives in Berlin, Germany

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 17, 2011, 10:08 AM »

Add Fort Meade, Maryland to the Map He visited there as well

-Josh (January 17, 2011, 09:15 AM)

Done (but without a picture - do you have one?)

1704

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Baby Cody arrives in Berlin, Germany

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 17, 2011, 09:05 AM »

Brilliant - lovely to see the little chap back in the limelight

Hogan says hello to his little chum!

Where abouts is he in Germany? I can add his location to the Plarker map of his journeys. (Just added Bagram see http://plarker.com/map/BabyCody).

1705

Developer's Corner / Re: "competitive upgrade" - is it ethical?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 14, 2011, 04:22 AM »

Part of the problem is that large chunks of voting stock are held by mutual funds and other investment companies.

-40hz (January 13, 2011, 03:09 PM)

Which slightly confirms the point I am making - those large chunks of voting stock effectively hold corporations to ransom. They are only interested in the bottom line. That is why they exist - to screw money out of the markets. If the directors don't deliver these large blocks will either move their investment or more likely heads will roll and someone less squeamish will be moved in.

This is why some US investment companies and market traders first reaction to 9/11 wasn't what can we do to help but rather what will this do to the markets. (I can't rmember whether that interview was on a Michael Moore film or 'The Corporation").

This is why unethical sweat shop labour in the far east (esp. in the clothing and electronics) and the incredible growth of call centres in India and South Africa is so important to corporate bosses. They maximise profit whilst causing unemployment in their base countries and intolerable working conditions and poor pay for foreign worker who are too poor and desperate to say no.

It's also why companies such as Nestle made an unethical fortune selling powdered milk in the third world and Barclays Bank helped to prop up apartheid South Africa. Think of soft drink manufacturers who move production overseas and then effectively cause drought for the local people where they set up their bottling plants.

One of the biggest problems we have in the UK is because the richest supermarket chains continually push down the purchasing price of products so that now there are parts of the Sahara that have been turned over to potato farming with the consequent need for water causing suffering and many African countries are suffering ever worse growing conditions to feed their own populations because so much of their produce is exported together with the water content used to produce it.

All of these ethical business decisions stem from increasing profits for western companies and all of this small sample is, IMHO, thoroughly unethical.

To get back to the topic sharp trading practices like undermining someone else's products by offering cash incentives is nothing new. I don't really think it is ethical but just turn on your TV and look at the ads and you will see it in your living room hundreds of times in an evening. All the cashback schemes are pretty much the same idea to draw consumers in a particular direction (but of course to maintain profits many companies make cashback schemes so onerous that they know only a small proportion of claims will meet all the requirements). Offering a discount for users of rival products is just another step in the line of unethical practice - but as i said in my first comment once this becomes established practice in large companies is it any wonder that medium sized companies and then smaller companies are forced to adopt the same tactics to survive.

1706

Developer's Corner / Re: "competitive upgrade" - is it ethical?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 13, 2011, 02:49 PM »

It would be nice if you could spend a year or two working here and really getting to see what US life is like. I think (or at least hope) you would discover we're nowhere near as selfish, arrogant, or evil as I sometimes suspect you think we are from some of your comments.

-40hz (January 13, 2011, 02:30 PM)

I am not singling out the US - the UK is just as bad and getting worse by the day.

Wherever in the world if a director doesn't do all they can to maximize profits for shareholders they are in a breach of trust situation between themselves and the shareholders and will probably be voted off at the next shareholder meeting.

It seems to me that most businesses of any size have a level of paranoia that means people end up having to do things they are not proud of.

That's why they call it the greasy pole!

I don't wish to insult individuals or nations. Individuals in all nations are great - it is when people come together that some really ugly stuff can happen, and when you add competition into the mix things get ugly fast.

This is why we have a world where companies:

• patent biological entities do the detriment of society as a whole
• have appalling attitudes towards the sick and needy (anyone work for a drug company)
• start law suits with the intention of pushing smaller rivals out of business
• claim they own patents on public property
• make preposterous and patently untrue claims about products (beauty industry like to chime in with a defence?)
• pay directors whopping bonuses whilst claiming public funds to bail out the mess they made
• buy out small competitors just to remove their product from the market (never mind the customers who lose out)
• kill thousands of people daily whilst saying 'not me'
• use pester power to get young children to force adults purchase rubbish

just a smalll sample of the sorts of behaviour I object to

1707

Developer's Corner / Re: "competitive upgrade" - is it ethical?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 13, 2011, 01:25 PM »

The obligation of a US Corporation is to maximize profit for the shareholder.

Most companies interpret this obligation as do anything you can get away with to make money and WTF are ethics anyway (or the law come to that).

You only have to look at the way the oil companies behave around the world to see how much influence law and ethics have on their behaviour.

1708

Developer's Corner / Re: "competitive upgrade" - is it ethical?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 13, 2011, 11:31 AM »

Trouble is where the big boys go the tiddlers follow (just look at activation methods for software).

Loads of big companies use/have used this as an incentive to steal customer eg. Corel Word Perfect Suite X can be bought at upgrade price if you have owned Microsoft Office XP or later.

There are similar deals from leading graphics companies etc.

It isn't really surprising it happens as the dollar/euro/pound/yen or whatever is king in business. It shouldn't be but it is.

Ethical? Not in my view but then who said business is ethical - the definition and obligations of a US corporation is to be as unethical as it can get away with.

My approach is to offer something different ... For example, I am building desktop computers for customers (for some reason I have had a sudden rush of orders). I can't compete with big box shifters and huge conglomerates in terms of rock bottom prices BUT I can offer a customised service that means the computer is built precisely the way the customer wants, it is delivered personally and set up at their home/office and generally I find I can offer higher spec products, with quality known brand components at similar price to off the shelf boxes. The other advantage is if the customer has a problem I am based down the road, they have my email address and phone number, they know where I live! So I have to get it right, and for the odd inevitable problem I fix it quick.

Attention to detail means I get lots of local recommendations.

OK the big businesses make a lot of money - but I am making a living and enjoying and feeling proud of what I am doing.

1709

General Software Discussion / Re: Upgrading RoboForm from v6 to v7: worthwhile?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 12, 2011, 02:36 PM »

I bought the Pro version because I got it half price and wanted to show some support for 2brightsparks. The free version would have met my needs.

1710

General Software Discussion / Re: Upgrading RoboForm from v6 to v7: worthwhile?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 12, 2011, 01:17 PM »

Sorry why not use the free version of SyncBack from 2brightsparks.com

Does everything that GoodSync can do and is free.

If you want a more powerful option go for SyncBackSE or SyncBackPro - reasonable prices and helpful company.

See http://www.2brightsparks.com/

1711

Living Room / Re: Fantastic Rant ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 09, 2011, 06:08 AM »

Still works here ... if you can't read it here it is quoted in full:

Article

Subject: Senior moment - A 98 year old woman in the UK wrote this to her bank.

The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in the Times.
Dear Sir,

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my cheque with which I endeavoured to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the cheque and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my Pension, an arrangement, which, I admit, has been in place for only thirty eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account £30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.

My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, but when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become. From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan payments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope.

Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Solicitor, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof. In due course, I will issue your employee with PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modelled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:

1. To make an appointment to see me.
2. To query a missing payment.
3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7. To leave a message on my computer (a password to access my computer is required.
A password will be communicated to you at a later date to the Authorized Contact.)
8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through to 8.
9. To make a general complaint or inquiry, the contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.

May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.

Your Humble Client

(Remember: This was written by a 98 year old woman; DOESN'T SHE MAKE YOU PROUD!)

1712

Living Room / Re: Fantastic Rant ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 08, 2011, 09:15 AM »

Some are reporting it is apparently a fake - but nevertheless I love the sentiments 

1713

Living Room / Fantastic Rant ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 07, 2011, 10:36 AM »

Don't you just love banks? Well no not really - but here is a template for dealing with them:

http://www.linkedin....ar-156464.S.39398197

1714

Living Room / Re: iPhone Alarms Don't Work

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 04, 2011, 03:15 PM »

BTW - Try posting that to Facebook from their link there. The Apple fanboys have all marked it as abusive so you can't. Nice. Social censorship in action.

-Renegade (January 04, 2011, 08:58 AM)

Just post the original article at http://www.smh.com.a...-20110104-19e6b.html

1715

Living Room / Re: iPhone Alarms Don't Work

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 03, 2011, 11:05 AM »

Only from her plastic surgery - she is seriously scary to look at.

The only plastic surgery that I have ever seen that was worse was Tony Curtis (at least outside of surgery's worst accidents - though I think he may have qualified on both counts).

1716

Living Room / Re: iPhone Alarms Don't Work

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 03, 2011, 07:24 AM »

Yes - hilarious news item on the BBC yesterday with a nice reminder of how holding the phone wrong can disconnect you too!

Apparently it isn't the first time their alarm has failed either.

I can understand the Millenium bug (that never actually happened) but how does this work for a random year - and how hard can it be to fix?

Class act iPhone - well worth the big bucks.

1717

Official Announcements / Re: DonationCoder.com NEW SERVER ACTIVATED Dec 17, 2010

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 31, 2010, 07:05 AM »

Well done.

The page kept appearing and disappearing yesterday (presumably flaky DNS propogation and interesting attempts at routing).

Seem stable now though. 

1718

Living Room / Re: My Blackberry Is Not Working!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 23, 2010, 05:42 PM »

Glad to have brought a little joy 

1719

Living Room / Re: My Blackberry Is Not Working!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 23, 2010, 11:59 AM »

This is the real inspiration ... http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=OCbvCRkl_4U

1720

Living Room / Re: My Blackberry Is Not Working!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 23, 2010, 08:40 AM »

All I have to say after that is .... 4candles

1721

General Software Discussion / Re: Upgrading RoboForm from v6 to v7: worthwhile?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 21, 2010, 03:03 PM »

Roboform > Lastpass isn't a CSV import unfortunately - it is an HTML file.

1722

General Software Discussion / Re: Upgrading RoboForm from v6 to v7: worthwhile?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 20, 2010, 03:39 PM »

Import from Roboform is a build-in feature of Lastpass, also instructions. If worried check their forum http://forums.lastpass.com/ for bugs.

-Bamse (December 18, 2010, 03:46 PM)

Trying lastpass (alongside RoboForm 6).

Whilst I am initially quite impressed with LastPass there are a couple of issues:

• imported just over 1000 RoboForm logins - all imported with issue BUT it doesn't always match fields correctly when filling a form which is a PITA (ie. it imports complete roboform logins but doesn't always configure them correctly for use).
• I am a little concerned that you are relying on their server being up and running 24/7/365 to ensure you can use randomly generate passwords
• Lastpass export to CSV is useful but doesn't seem toe export everything (I can find note or identities - although I am sure they are there somewhere!)

I think if I was starting from scratch LastPass would be nearly ideal but as a move from RoboForm there are still some gremlins.

Anyone know an easy (and multi browser) desktop app that allows import of Robofrom and works entirely on the PC?

1723

Living Room / Re: Great Britain is frozen!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 18, 2010, 05:28 PM »

You'll be lucky to find an airport open - many are closed at the moment and sending passengers home!

1724

General Software Discussion / Re: Upgrading RoboForm from v6 to v7: worthwhile?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 18, 2010, 11:45 AM »

It's called taking people hostage:

• Sell a product with free lifetime upgrades/updates
• Promote widely and get millions of people hooked in to the product
• Change the licensing model
• Blackmail people into coughing up to keep access to their passwords.

It is blackmail because whilst you can carry on using version 6 you can guarantee that next time Firefox is updated v. 6 will be broken and how long before it starts working with other supported browsers.

Personally I have hundreds or passwords (pretty much all randomly generated and complex) and moving to another app is not really an option now unless there is a totally foolproof import option.

I have the choice - cough up or suffer enormous amounts of inconvenience. That is called blackmail pure and simple.

If they want to change the licensing model that is fine but they entered into a contract with their current customer base which they should honour. Someone will take them to court at some point - let's start a class action!

Personally I have no interest whatsoever storing my passwords on their servers - and after this can they really be trusted ... they could just as easily change the confidentiality agreement in the future!

1725

Developer's Corner / Re: How to program for all 3 platforms at once

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 14, 2010, 03:00 AM »

I have a copy of RB and have some plans. My biggest problem is finding the time. I've been really busy with work over the last few months and I have other things I have to do before I start spending time on RB. Bit of a catch 22 situation.